I can’t believe I never ran into Reservation Road before.
and as I got further into the book, I realized I'd seen the film, which was good, btw...Mark Ruffalo played the tortured lawyer (oxymoron?). We’d love your help.
Let’s face it, 2020 is making us long for other timelines. Dwight, a man … It was dark.
This is a book of unmitagated brillance leaving the reader drained of emotion; yet, with an elation over having experienced Mr. Schwartz's "Reservation Road."
I sometimes find that male authors tend to gloss over emotions,even in the toughest of circumstances. I need to re-read this book. At Harvard College, he majored in Japanese studies, and upon graduation accepted a position with a prominent Wall Street investment bank, before finally turning the position down after selling his first novel. Dwight would not have been charged with anything (other than a ticket for the burned out headlight).
It's hard to say you "really liked" a book about the death of a 10-yr-old boy from a hit and run. That was not the case for this novel- John Burnham Schwartz very effectively makes the reader ache to reach into the novel and comfort the deeply grieving characters. What will happen to each of them as time passes without a clue? Two haunted men and their families are engulfed by the emotions surrounding an unexpected and horrendous death.
The character’s each feel like they came from the 1950’s even thought the novel was supposed to be set in the 1990’s. Their son is standing by the road when a car comes racing along the bend. This is one depressing book.
It was engrossing and moving. Otherwise I think it would be hard to understand the characters reactions. How each copes with the aftermath is the core of the tale here. In a quiet New England community members of swim team and their dedicated parents are preparing for a home meet. How each copes with the aftermath is the core of the tale here.
I sometimes find that male authors tend to gloss over emotions,even in the toughest of circumstances. If you have watched and experienced what death does to a family you can relate to this novel.I did a quick re-read of this book in anticipation of the sequel, I did a quick re-read of this book in anticipation of the sequel, Why I wanted to read this one: Last year I read Northwest Corner by Schwartz, which is the sequel to Reservation Road, for a TLC Book Tour. Sometimes being an attorney takes the fun out of books for me.
Trailers for the film make it look like the story is about revenge. If you have watched and experienced what death does to a family you can relate to this novel.I read some of the reviews of this book and was a little surprised by a few. Schwartz has taught fiction writing at Harvard, The University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, and Sarah Lawrence College, and he is the literary director of the Sun Valley Writers' Conference, one of the leading literary festivals in the United States.“There are heroes, and there are the rest of us.
That being said, when I read something which falls into that bullshit category (which doesn’t happen often), the novel has to be accessible, and by that, I mean that I don’t want to feel as if I should be sipping a too-expensive wine while sitting in a too-expensive chair in my ‘den’. The book is narrated from 3 perspectives on the events of that night - Josh's father Ethan, Josh's mother Grace and Dwight the guy who hit Josh and kept on driving. The overall effect is of extreme sadness. Each page is filled with grief, memories, stark truths. We follow the consequences over the next few months, either through Dwight's eyes or Ethan's (both in first person) or through Grace's (in third person).
Published
Reservation Road by John Burnham Schwartz is a prime example.
The Learner family, Ethan and Grace and their children, Emma and Josh, stop at a gas station on their way home. and as I got further into the book, I realized I'd seen the film, which was good, btw...Mark Ruffalo played the tortured lawyer (oxymoron?). Simply stunning.